The Tale of the Curtis Brothers
by nerdnerdnerd
Summary: i'm very new to this...just trying something out. constructive criticism and reviews are appreciated! thanks!


Darry is 18 years old.

Soda is 11 years old.

Pony is 5 years old.

I don't own The Outsiders in anyway.

Constructive criticism is welcomed! I'm very new to this!

(Darry's p.o.v.)

my alarm started beeping at 6:00 A.M. i would do anything to be able to sleep in an extra few minutes, but i knew there wasn't time. especially today. today was going to be a busy day and i could only hope everything would go well.

i willed myself out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen, pouring myself a cup of black coffee. i started microwaving a few waffles for the boys - probably not the healthiest option out there, but it's quick and easy.

i glared at the stack of bills piling up on the counter, knowing i'd have to spend some serious time writing out checks tonight. the worst part is hoping i'd have enough to pay our bills andfeed our family. i'd been putting in overtime at the warehouse, but i doubted it would be enough.

i checked the clock - 6:30 - time to face the wrath of my brothers. every time i woke them up, i knew i was entering a war zone.

pony's 5 years old right now, and i'm really trying to enjoy it while i can. i knew he's growing up fast. a little too fast for my liking, but i try not to think about that.

pony's a good kid, he really is. when i normally wake him up, he's quiet and wants to cuddle. i can deal with him being clingy. it's his other brother that i can't deal with.

soda's on a completely different page in the morning. he's cranky, grumpy, disobedient, snappy - a complete brat.

soda's 11 years old, and i know he's bound to test my limits, but sometimes it gets to me. he'll say the meanest things - whatever he can to hurt my feelings. and after he finally drives through my patience and hurts my feelings, thenhe feels guilty.

regardless, i love them more than anything in the whole world. i've never regretted my decision to take custody of them. it's worth it.

i stepped into my brother's dark bedroom and smiled at the sight of soda wrapping his arm around pony. i normally wake pony up first, since he's easier and doesn't fight me.

i gently rubbed pony's arm and kissed his forehead. "hey baby boy, time to get up."

pony mumbled some illegible words before stretching in bed. i chuckled as pony opened his green eyes one at a time to look at me.

he stood up on his bed and fixed his batman pajamas before reaching his arms out toward me. i picked pony up and gently blew in his face, causing him to giggle. i brushed his hair back before whispering, "you wanna help me wake up soda?"

pony nodded and quickly whispered back, "shhhhh."

he squirmed around to let me know they he wanted to get down. he rushed over to soda's side of the bed and laughed to himself before poking soda's nose. "soda, wake up."

soda burrowed himself further under the covers to escape the poking. pony pulled the covers back and continued poking soda. i walked over, ready to get the whole process over with, when soda suddenly sat up and slapped pony's cheek.

i stood there in shock for a second before i realized what had just happened.

i flipped on the light and knelt beside pony to inspect the damage. as hard as he was trying to keep him composure, the poor kid was bawling. i could see that his cheek was pink in comparison to his other cheek. pony bit his lip and sniffled, clearly shocked they soda would slap him. "owwww," pony cried.

i pulled pony into my chest and let him soak my shirt. i rubbed his back, trying to calm him down. "shhhhh, pony, you're fine honey. i know it hurt, but you're ok. i've got you."

pony whispered, "up...please." i tried my best not to smile and his adorable request. i placed pony on my hip and nudged soda's arm. "soda...come on bud, you gotta get up now. we need to talk."

i pulled back the sheets to reveal that soda was already awake. "soda, i'm not gonna tell you again. this is your last chance to get up."

soda looked up me pitifully.

"i didn't mean to, dar...i really didn't mean to."

"we're going to go to the breakfast table right now because i made you guys waffles, and we're gonna have a nice long chat about what just happened."

soda reluctantly followed me and pony down the hallway and climbed into his chair. i set their plates in front of them and quietly sat down at the head of the table.

"soda...we don't hit each other. no matter how tired, angry, or upset we are - violence is never the answer."

"i know," soda answered miserably. "i'm real sorry Dar, i was just annoyed. i didn't mean to hit him that hard."

"i can deal with your bad behavior when you lash out at me, soda. trust me. i can take whatever you throw my way. but you don't get to behave that way towards pony. he's the one you need to apologize to."

soda glanced up from his waffles to look at pony. the poor kid's cheek was still quite pink, and stray tears remained in his eyes.

"pony, i'm really sorry...i never meant to hurt you. i was just annoyed that i had to wake up. i'd never hurt you on purpose buddy...i love you too much."

soda got down from his seat at the table to give pony a hug.

"i'm sorry, pony. are we good now?"

pony nodded into soda's shoulder, "i know you didn't mean it soda...i love you too."

soda sat back down at his chair and glanced up at me.

"i'm sorry i'm a brat in the morning, dar...i'm just tired all the time and i don't know how to fix it."

"well tonight you're going to bed the same time pony does, 8:00."

"but Darry! i'm eleven years old, i can't go to bed that early."

"well maybe it'll help you be nicer in the morning, soda. now we're not gonna fight about it anymore. is that clear?"

"yes, sir."

"oh come on, soda, don't give me 'sir', i'm not mad at you honey."

"i feel like you're still mad at me. i'm being difficult, and i'm a really bad kid-"

"-soda, that's enough. you're not a bad kid. i love you to pieces. even when you slip up and make mistakes, i still love you buddy. nothing could ever change that."

soda gave me a nod to show me that he understood. "e-even if i k-keep making mistakes...y-you'll still love me?"

"there's nothing you could do to make me stop loving you. that goes for both of you. alright?"

both boys nodded at me. pony anxiously looked over at the refrigerator and back at me.

"can i have my milky?"

i was really working on cutting pony back on milk. he'd had a bottle of milk every morning since he was a baby, but i knew i'd have to wean him off of it sometime.

"not right now, honey. we gotta get soda ready for school, and we're running a little late now. can you help me with the laundry?"

it was easy to distract pony if you asked him to help do something. it made him feel like a big kid. he loved being given responsibility. he seemed to forget about the milk, which was a good sign.

i watched soda give pony one more hug before he had to go get dressed. i wished they could stay this little forever.


End file.
